Data Visualization

Two weeks ago, Smashing Magazine published  an article on the most interesting modern approaches to data visualization.

Didn’t have the time to link to it before today (first real vacation day).

Eric Schmidt on Web 3.0

Short but interesting video. What does the CEO of Google answer « when asked « What is Web 3.0? »
First, he makes a joke (because, as everyone else, he absolutely has no idea of what he’s going to answer ;-))
Then, he says something general « Applications are small, fast, customized. »
Then something hype « The Data is in the cloud »
And then, the real deal « Apps wile be distributed by virus. By social networks, by email. You won’t go to the store to purchase them. Here is something interesting, I’ll send it to you ».

And that’s interesting!

Founders at work, Boards at work

Two recent books I read, both « something at work ».

One, Boards at work, is written by this guru Ram Charan. I had already Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by the same guy, which was a good, but not sensational book. I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed by this one. This guy certainly has a huge experience working with directors and CEO around the world, but with book, there is little of that experience that you can really grab and use. I still have another of his book on my reading list: Know-how: The 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform from Those Who Don’t. So you will still hear about Ram Charan on the R blog. But not too soon, gotta let this bitter taster disappear.

The second book, Founders at work, is a must read. Better than the 7 Harry Potter books together (wich is a bad comparison as I didn’t like them that much). The book is a collection of interviews with founders of famous technology companies about what happened in the very earliest days and later. Within each interviews, you’ll catch dozen of interesting infos. Believe me , when you start it, you’ll finish it within the week.

So my conclusion on those two « at work » books, is that 30 6-pages interviews of real-life entrepreneurs is far better than 200 pages of the so callec acclaimed consultant to CEOs and senior executives.

Taming the Traps of Traditional Thinking

ChangeThis.com published a Manifesto on Innovation from, Matthew E. May, the author of Elegant Solutions: Breakthrough Thinking the Toyota Way

This Manifesto is really an interesting read (19 pages, come on). Guy Kawasaki published an excerpt on his blog:

  1. Shortcutting. Leaping to solutions in an instinctive way or intuitive way—i.e. the “blink” method of problem-solving—seldom leads to an elegant solution because deeper, hidden causes don’t get addressed. Watch CSI and House: first they collect the evidence, then diagnose, and then solve. It’s never the guy or the disease you initially suspect.
  2. Blindspots. Blindspots are the umbrella term for assumptions, biases, and mindsets that we cannot see through or around. Our brain does a lot of “filling in” for us because it’s a pattern maker and recognizer. Ths cn b hrd fr ppl t cmprhnd, hwvr, mst cn ndrstntd ths sntnc wth lttl prblm. But clear thinking involves more than simply filling in spaces in words.
  3. Not Invented Here (N.I.H.). NIH means that you refuse to consider solutions that are from external sources. It means “If we didn’t come up with it, it won’t work. It is of no use.” Next time you’re waiting for an elevator, watch someone walk up and hit the button even though it’s already lit. We often don’t trust others’ solutions!
  4. Satisficing. Ever wonder why some solutions lack inspiration, imagination, and originality? It’s because by nature we satisfice—satisfy plus suffice. We glom on to what’s easy and stop looking for the optimal solution. What’s the least number of “sticks” you need to move to make this Roman numeral equation correct? XI + I = X If you answered anything but zero, you satisficed. Look at it upside down.
  5. Downgrading. Downgrading is the close cousin of satisficing but with a twist: a formal revision of the goal or situation. Reason? No one likes to fail. Result? We fall short of the killer app, so we pick the one that allows us to declare victory. Next time you’re playing hockey or football, try winning the game by hitting the outside of the post or taking the ball down to the one-yard line.
  6. Complicating. Why do we overthink, complicate, and add cost? And why do we ALL do it so intuitively, naturally, and (here’s the killer) consistently? Answer: we’re hardwired that way. Our brains are designed to drive hoarding, storing, accumulating, and collecting-type behavior. We are by nature “do more/add on” types. Don’t believe it? Watch the customers at Costco or Sam’s Club buy thirty-six rolls of toilet paper.
  7. Stifling. We do naturally do the “Yeah, but..” dance in which we stifle, dismiss, and second-guess ideas. It’s ideacide, pure and simple. And it’s not just others’ ideas we stifle; we often do it to our own and kick ourselves later when someone else “steals” our great idea. Remember how Decca Records rejected the Beatles? “Guitar bands are on the way out.”

IPhone unlocked for real?

Le site le plus visite des prochains jours sera hackint0sh, qui vient de publier dans un forum les étapes pour débloquer un IPhone et le rendre compatible avec n’importe quel opérateur. Combien de temps le site sera-t-il en ligne? No lo se. Enfin, pour rappel, on n’est pas censé copier sa carte SIM 😉

Didier, tu l’as déjà commandé sur Ebay?

Webapps VS. Desktop Apps, an example with JayCut

I’ve just tried out Jaycut beta, an online editing tool.

By definition, Jaycut has a lot of nice features:

  1. upload on the web, means some kind of backup for your local data
  2. easy export to YouTube and other platforms
  3. eays share with others
  4. Edit from anywhere in the worl, you just need a browser

Those are the ones that comes with web 2.0 by defintion, aren’t they?

Here are some of the things I didn’t like with Jaycut

  1. I didn’t find how to upload from an existing Youtube account, or your Flickr account.
  2. If it was really web 2.0, you should be able to get music from other web2.0 apps?
  3. I didn’t find how to easily play-rewind-forward the final movie. You can play, but not stop at a certain time, rewind some frames back, add something, etc…

So, Jaycut is a nice tools for really simple video editing or photo montage. That is true, but … here comes the pain.

The main problem is that you want your editing tool to be super-reactive. And Jaycut is not. It has this kind of slowness that you find on most Webapps, even Google ones. And don’t tell me about the bandwith, I know bandwidth, I live in France, the country where you have 5 providers giving your ADSL2+ with free phone and free for 30 EUR per month.

Another big problem is the upload. If it has to be really usable, you need to be able to upload real-life video. Which means HD-video, which means a huge amount of data, which means a huge amount of time for upload, which means pain. I know, bandwidth again … you know my answer.

Jaycut is another webapps that gives Desktop Apps a nice space and future.

Lessons in scandinavian design

volvo50Volvo did a lifting of its S40 model recently. They put up a nice website which exposes 5 rules of scandinavian design, as they call them.

  1. Less is more
  2. Treat everything like a piece of art
  3. Form follows function
  4. Redefine luxury
  5.  Never stop learning

I like the website design, the music and the girl/guy.

And those rules have also been applied to the new V50.  But the 4th one is different, wy?

All those BWM and Audi freaks … pffff.